Thanks to the Makers of FREE Software

This week is the thanksgiving week, and this blog post is to express our gratitude to the free software makers. Your contributions have made our lives more beautiful, easier, more efficient and much more.

Starting with the legendary Linus Torvalds, there are countless contributors to free software. We have great quality yet free accounting tools, blogging software, calculators, ERPs and even complete operating systems which are free. There are good quality images and soundtracks that can be used without having to pay any royalty. There are books, online tutorials and even free courses for anything that one wants to learn. There are countless other tonnes of free resources to explore, limited only by one’s imagination. There are legal experts who came forward and created legal frameworks to protect the interest of the free software.

What started out as a bunch of small buggy utilities contributed by people in their spare time with a “Use at your own risk” disclaimer, has today matured into a mammoth movement whose creations rival and at times surpass the quality of the industry-grade software. What started as a tiny drop is an ocean today.

The vast majority of others keep wondering and debating whether software should be free in the first place, whether it is right that the creators do not get compensated for their effort, whether free software is a viable alternative to commercial software. Irrespective of which side of the debate one are on, one cannot refute the fact that keeping the software free adds a convenience to try something out and move on if it does not work. Also, it enables people in remotest places in remotest countries to get started right away.

While the rest of us debate, you nerds are busy at work and developing amazing stuff. Lots and lots of developers throughout the world have worked on this mission. You sacrificed dinners, sleep and even girlfriends. Your zeal to make a difference to the world outweighs everything else. You have redefined passion. From beneath your unsheveled appearance, the grow of the sparkle in your eyes is unmistakable. That sparkle has been infectious, and that’s what creates the next you, and the saga continues.

Many of you selflessly give away the fruit of your toil. For some, you are trying to make a dent in the monopolistic empire (the name may vary, from time to time and from person to person). For some others, you may be exploiting a commercial opportunity through your free software. Whatever your story may be, it has contributed to a silent revolution. It has enriched our lives.

As of this moment, I am sure some of you are working furiously with your laptop with your own deadline to gift something amazing to the world as it steps into 2016.

Here is a big “Thank you” on behalf of the millions who get benefited through your actions.